The billion-euro businesses putting Cyprus at the heart of global trade

Nearly 70 companies operating from Cyprus are reported to generate annual turnover exceeding €100 million, with technology, shipping, energy and international trade producing some of the biggest figures in the country’s corporate sector. Leading the pack are ASBIS Group, with turnover of around €3.4 billion, Island Energies, formerly Island Oil, with more than €1.5 billion, and Logicom Group, with approximately €1.2 billion. The figures reflect the scale of businesses operating from Cyprus, where companies with relatively small domestic footprints can generate billions in sales across international markets. They also reveal a changing corporate landscape, with established businesses in property, hospitality, retail and manufacturing increasingly joined by international technology distributors, financial services providers, gaming companies and maritime suppliers. ASBIS, headquartered in Limassol, offers one of the clearest examples of just how far a Cyprus-based business can reach. The technology distributor reported record revenue of approximately $3.9bn in 2025, up 28 per cent from the previous year. Its latest figures, however, show that growth has accelerated sharply. According to financial results released on November 5, ASBIS generated $5.15bn in revenue during the first nine months of 2026, almost double the $2.62bn recorded during the corresponding period last year. Net profit after tax jumped to $132.2m from $31.1m, while third-quarter revenue surged by 135 per cent to $2.19bn. Much of the increase came from international demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, with sales of AI servers and data centre equipment reaching $2.32bn during the nine-month period, almost five times the level recorded a year earlier. Meanwhile, smartphone sales also increased, supported by the group’s distribution network across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. September brought another first, with ASBIS exceeding $1bn in monthly sales, reporting approximately $1.05bn compared with $332m in September 2025. The company, which established its Cyprus headquarters in 1995, serves customers across approximately 60 countries. Its latest performance means it surpassed its entire 2025 revenue before the end of September 2026. Shipping and energy provide another substantial source of international business, with Island Energies among the country’s largest commercial groups. Established in Limassol in 1992, the company has expanded from marine fuel trading into a wider range of maritime and energy services, supplying vessels and customers across international markets. The group adopted the Island Energies identity in September 2026, replacing the former Island Oil branding as its activities expanded. The new corporate identity brought several businesses together under one name, reflecting the group’s broader operations while preserving its established commercial relationships. Today, it maintains offices in nine countries, operates physical fuel supply facilities at 12 ports and employs more than 500 people onshore and offshore. Its international reach reflects the importance of Cyprus’ maritime industry, where the business extends well beyond managing ships to fuel trading, logistics, technical support and energy services. It also comes at a time when shipping companies are facing increasing pressure over fuel costs, emissions requirements and the transition to alternative marine fuels. Logicom, meanwhile, completes the leading trio, showing how technology distribution has become one of Cyprus’ most substantial international business activities. The Nicosia-based group recorded gross sales of approximately €1.24bn in 2025, compared with €1.29bn in 2024, according to its published financial accounts. However, revenue recognised under international accounting standards amounted to approximately €874m, reflecting the different treatment of certain software licensing and cloud transactions. In those cases, Logicom acts as an intermediary rather than the principal supplier, meaning only the relevant commission or margin is recognised as revenue. The distinction is important because companies reporting similar gross sales may record considerably different revenue figures in their audited accounts. The group’s first-half results for 2026 showed gross sales of €579m, marginally below the €582m recorded a year earlier. Although reported sales fell by 16.5 per cent to €409.1m, operating profit increased by 8.8 per cent to €19.6m, supported by improved margins and lower operating costs. Logicom operates across European and Middle Eastern markets, distributing technology products and providing software, infrastructure and integrated IT solutions. The country’s larger businesses, however, are not confined to technology and international shipping. Petrolina recorded turnover of €559.4m in 2025, compared with €570.1m the previous year, reflecting its extensive activities in fuel distribution and petroleum products. Despite the reduction in sales, the company’s profit before tax increased to €8.7m from €3.1m, according to its audited financial results presented in June. The figures demonstrate how fluctuations in fuel prices can affect turnover without necessarily producing the same movement in profitability. Retail and property-related activities also remain substantial. Cyprus Trading Corporation (CTC) recorded turnover of €295m from continuing operations in 2024, compared with €286m in 2023. Its subsequently published results for the first half of 2025 showed turnover of €139m, up from €134m during the same period a year earlier. The group’s net profit reached €21.8m, compared with a loss of €1m, although much of the improvement came from the disposal of its investment in Superhome Center rather than ordinary trading activity. CTC also reduced its bank obligations from €138m at the end of 2024 to €87m by June 2025, following asset disposals and restructuring. Meanwhile, Vassiliko Cement Works increased revenue by 11 per cent to €152.8m in 2025, supported by stronger domestic sales and construction activity. Its net profit rose to approximately €35.5m from €25.9m, with improvements in production efficiency and the increased use of alternative fuels contributing to the result. The company’s performance reflects the continued importance of construction and property development, which remain major sources of economic activity in Cyprus. Tourism tells another part of the story. Louis plc recorded annual turnover of €138.6m in 2025, an increase of 8.3 per cent from €128.1m the previous year, largely supported by higher tourist arrivals. Operating profit increased to €25.6m from €23.2m, while net profit rose to approximately €7m from €3.9m. The figures illustrate how established hospitality businesses continue to generate substantial revenue alongside newer internationally oriented industries. The financial scale becomes even more striking when the country’s major public organisations are considered separately. Cyta reported revenue of €444.2m in 2025, compared with €405.5m in 2023, according to figures released in July. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation reached €150.6m, while investment during 2024 and 2025 totalled almost €189m. The telecommunications authority financed those investments from its own resources, without bank borrowing, as it expanded its fibre network, mobile infrastructure, data centres and digital services. Meanwhile, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) reported approximately €1.12bn in revenue in 2025, alongside expenditure of €1.09bn. Its operating profit reached €28.7m, although net profit stood at €12.3m, according to the authority’s audited results presented in July. Both organisations are publicly owned and operate under different structures and obligations from private businesses. Nevertheless, their figures illustrate the scale of activity in electricity and telecommunications, where revenue must also support substantial infrastructure investment. Banking adds another dimension, although bank income is not directly comparable with turnover reported by trading, manufacturing or technology companies. Bank of Cyprus recorded total income of €1.04bn in 2025, including net interest income of €731m and non-interest income of €309m. More recently, the bank reported profit after tax of €383m for the first nine months of 2026, an increase of 9 per cent year on year. Its performing loan portfolio reached €11.6bn at the end of September, while customer deposits increased to €23.5bn. Eurobank’s Cyprus operations also reported substantial figures, generating €733m in external revenue during the first nine months of 2026. This included €579m in net interest income, €98m in net banking fees and commissions and €56m in other revenue. The Cyprus operations contributed €367m in profit before tax during the period, reflecting the significant scale of the bank’s local business. However, such financial-sector income should be assessed separately from commercial sales, just as the revenue of publicly owned utilities should not automatically be included in private-company rankings. The economic importance of Cyprus’ largest businesses has also become more visible in the country’s official statistics. Indeed, in October, the Statistical Service revised its national accounts, increasing the estimated economic growth rate for 2025 to 4.8 per cent, compared with the earlier estimate of 3.8 per cent. Growth for 2024 was revised even more sharply, from 3.9 per cent to 6.6 per cent. Significantly, Cystat identified the incorporation of large enterprises with substantial turnover and cross-border transactions as one of the reasons for its revisions, following closer examination of their actual economic activities and contribution to the domestic economy. Other factors included updated data, routine statistical adjustments and the incorporation of households producing electricity through photovoltaic systems. The revised figures put Cyprus’s GDP at €38.3bn in current prices in 2025, with information and communication, wholesale and retail trade, hospitality and professional services contributing to the economy’s expansion. Information and communication alone accounted for 13.5 per cent of gross value added, according to the revised national accounts. As previously examined in the technology sector, information and communication activities generated €4.64bn in value added in 2025, almost twice the €2.32bn produced by accommodation and food services. That makes the distinction between international sales and local economic activity particularly important. A Cyprus-headquartered group may record billions in consolidated revenue through subsidiaries abroad, but those sales do not automatically become part of Cyprus’ GDP. Instead, the country’s economic benefit depends on the value created locally, including employment, wages, services, investment and other domestic activities. The contrast with the wider business population is considerable. According to the latest detailed annual business register figures published by Cystat, Cyprus had 125,152 enterprises in 2023, of which 94.8 per cent employed fewer than ten people. Only 156 enterprises, representing approximately 0.1 per cent of the total, employed at least 250 people. Those larger employers nevertheless accounted for 126,016 jobs, or 25.3 per cent of enterprise employment. By comparison, businesses employing fewer than ten people accounted for 38.1 per cent of employment, demonstrating the importance of both small firms and larger employers to the Cypriot economy. A similar pattern exists across Europe. According to Eurostat figures released in September, large enterprises represented just 0.2 per cent of all businesses in the EU in 2024, but accounted for 49 per cent of total business value added and employed 37 per cent of the workforce.